however, keeping them honest, house speaker john boehner and other top republicans trying to justify it in part by playing down the fact that president obama and democrats got a significant boost from voters. >> in politics, there is always a temptation among those who win office to think they have a mandate to do what they will. >> i don't think so because they also re-elected the house republicans. so whether people intended or not, we've got a divided government. >> the american people have also made clear there is no mandate for raising tax rates. >> keeping them honest, president obama campaigned and won on letting taxes go up for the top earners, so his victory throws a little cold water on that claim. democrats gained seats in the senate and the house and recent cnn/rnc polling shows more than 2 in 3 support tax hikes for the wealthy. u.s. a reality that republicans will grapple with from now until new year's day. joining me, congressman tom cole from oklahoma. a republican. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> your proposal, republican lawmakers should agree with democr